Book Review: Black Ice by Andrew Lane (Sherlock Holmes: The Legend Begins #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Interesting adventure starring everyone's favorite detective as a teen
Cons: Takes a little while to get going
Bottom Line:
A teenage Sherlock
Learning what would make him great
Thrilling Adventure

Young Sherlock and His Suspect Brother

Despite my love of mysteries, I know very little about Sherlock Holmes.  I was reminded of this when I picked up Black Ice, the third in a series about Holmes as a teen.  Even with my limited knowledge of the character, I still found the book enjoyable.

A teenage Sherlock and his mentor, Amyus Crowe, have traveled into London to visit Sherlock's brother Mycroft.  But when they arrive, they find a dazed Mycroft alone in a locked room with a dead body.  The man has been stabbed, and Mycroft has the knife in his hand.  Can Sherlock prove his brother is innocent?  Where will this case lead?

At times, I felt like I should know who some of the characters in the book were.  I'm just not sure if that's because they are part of the official Holmes stories or if it's just because they were in earlier books in the series, which I haven't read.

The book started out slowly.  We were almost 50 pages into it before the story really got going.  Again, maybe those early pages would have been more interesting if I'd read the earlier books.

I can say once things got going, I really enjoyed it.  It's not the strongest mystery since the mysteries are solved fairly early.  Instead, it's what those mysteries uncover that keeps you reading.  It heads off into some interesting places, yet every twist was believable.

Likewise, the characters were interesting.  I can certainly see why the TV show Monk is often compared to Sherlock Holmes based on how Sherlock and Mycroft are portrayed here.  Yet the characters here are interesting enough to stand on their own.  Even if I'd never heard the name Holmes before, I would have cared about the outcome.  We really only get to know one or two others enough, but they are interesting characters as well.  The rest aren't on the page enough to be fully fleshed out, but they certainly serve their purpose in the story well.

Author Andrew Lane is British.  In fact, the book was published in 2011 while it is just coming out in the states right now.  As a result, there are some British spellings and expressions, but teens, the target audience, will have no trouble with it at all.  I see nothing in the writing that would trip them up at all.

I just don't recommend starting here.  I think this book would mean more if read in order.  I'm certainly reminded why I like to do that.  But if you don't, you'll still find yourself lost in the story of Black Ice.

NOTE: I received this book through the Amazon Vine program.  A shorter version of my honest review also appears on Amazon.